Docent Quiz 3: Hargrett Library Part 1
7/17/2012
1. Name the six collecting areas highlighted in the primary wall text of the Signature Gallery
Civil War, Natural History, Colonial Georgia, Performing Arts, History of the Book, and Native Americans
Many of you wrote down some of the other collections highlighted on the bronze plaques of the gallery -which are also great to remember and include:
The
The
The
The
The
2.
Freddy Wittop Center for the Study of Performing Arts
James Waldo Woodruff, Sr. Center for the Natural History of Georgia
Stephen E. Draper Center and Archives for the Study of Water Law & Policy
George Horace Lorimer Center for Print Media
Lucy Hargrett Draper Center and Archives for the Study of the Rights of Women in History and Law
What two collections form the core of the Hargrett Library?
The DeRenne Collection
The original De Renne Library was held at Wormsloe Plantation on the Isle of Hope near Savannah. The
building held a collection that, at the time of its acquisition by the University of Georgia, was the largest
and most important assemblage of books and manuscripts relating to the history of Georgia as colony
and state.
The Library is the product of a family whose patriarch, Noble Jones (1723-1805), came to Georgia with
James Oglethorpe in 1733. Jones’ great-grandson, George Wymberley Jones De Renne (1827-1880)
amassed a large and important library, and by 1847 his section on Georgia history was considered
superior to all other such private collections. Unfortunately, the books and papers from this first De
Renne Library were destroyed or plundered during the final years of the Civil War.
The present collection is largely a result of many years of effort by G.W.J. De Renne’s eldest son,
Wymberley Jones De Renne (1853-1916), whose library greatly exceeded that of his father. W.J. De
Renne’s Georgia Library eventually encompassed approximately 10,000 items dated 1700-1931; and he
constructed a classical fireproof library building for the collection at Wormsloe in 1907. It had been W.J.
DeRenne’s wish that his library one day come to the University of Georgia, a wish fulfilled in 1938 then
the family executed its sale to the University.
The Felix Hargrett Collection
Tifton native Felix Hargrett earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of
Georgia in 1924 and pursued a successful career in the fire insurance and rate-making industry. An
ardent collector of books, Mr. Hargrett assembled an extensive library of rare books and
manuscripts. His collections of Georgia history and literature and of confederate imprints were the
largest in private ownership when he presented them to the University of Georgia where they, along with
the De Renne Library, form the nucleus of the Hargrett Library’s rare book collection.
Mr. Hargrett donated 12,000 books and 10,000 historical manuscripts to the University incalculably
strengthening the Library’s collections, and he expressed the hope that other friends and alumni would
do likewise. In addition to his gifts of books, Mr. Hargrett established two funds to endow the Hargrett
Library, providing annually for the purchase of rare books and manuscripts.
In 1986, the University of Georgia Libraries reconstituted its collections of rare books and Georgiana,
along with its historical manuscripts as the “Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library” in recognition of
the generous philanthropy of businessman and bibliophile, Felix Hargrett.
3.
Mary Ellen told us about how she developed collections for the Freddy Wittop Center for the
Study of Performing Arts. Tell me more about one or more of the following component
collections:
a.
b.
c.
Freddy Wittop Papers
Paris Music Hall Collection
Charles Coburn Collection
Short answers for each of these collections are found in the primary panel text for the "Performing Arts"
section of the Signature Gallery (see below); after today's tour with Mary Ellen, you know even more
about these collections! (especially Paris Music Hall)
The Charles Coburn Collection includes scripts, movie stills, and publicity photographs documenting the
Savannah native's successful theatrical career. Coburn received the Academy Award for Best Supporting
Actor in 1941.
The Paris Music Hall Collection comprises over 7,000 original renderings of costume and curtain designs
created for the music halls of Paris from 1920-1938. Twenty-six international designers are represented
in this collection including the most famous of all, Erté.
The Hargrett Library houses more than 3,000 costume designs by Freddy Wittop who won the Tony
Award for Hello Dolly!
4. Do all the collections in the Hargrett Library have a connection to Georgia?
The short answer to this is no.
The Hargrett Library advances the research, instructional, and service missions of the University of
Georgia by collecting, preserving, and sharing the published and unpublished works that document the
history and culture of our state. Among the Hargrett’s holdings is the Georgiana collection, the most
complete assemblage of published works by Georgians and about Georgia, and a distinguished collection
of rare books, maps, and broadsides featuring material from the De Rennes and Felix Hargrett.
That said, there are other collecting areas that began with a Georgia connection and then grew beyond
the borders of the state. A good example of this mentioned last week is the Performing Arts Collection
(see above). The Charles Coburn collection is connected to the state (Coburn was a native); once that
collection was in place the archivist began to look for more performing arts collections that could
capitalize and build on this collecting area, creating a richer assortment of collections for researchers. As
a result the Paris Music Hall and Freddy Wittop Collections became a part of Hargrett. These collecting
areas not only attract researchers from all over the country (and from other countries) but also serve as
great resources for researchers from various departments on campus.
5.
What is said to be the most important item owned by the Hargrett Library? Describe the
significance of this collection item.
The Confederate Constitution
The Congress of Delegates from the seceding Southern States convened at Montgomery, Alabama, on
February 4, 1861. They quickly adopted a provisional Constitution, and in less than a month, devised and
approved a permanent Constitution, which was adopted March 11, 1861. The copy of the Constitution in
Hargrett is the only copy of the permanent version; a copy of the provisional version is housed at the
Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA.
BONUS Questions!
What is the oldest item in the Hargrett Library?
The oldest item(s) are the Babylonian Clay Tablets, ca. 1800 B.C.
Mary Ellen also mentioned the earliest book the Hargrett owns was from 1480. Today, she pointed out
one of the books on the "History of the Book" panel in the Signature Gallery which is close to this time
period: a Woodcut from St. Augustine’s De Civitate Dei, printed in Basel in 1490, an example of
incunabula, or books produced during the first forty-five years of printing.
Who was the first archivist of the DeRenne collection?
Wymberley Jones Derenne’s son, Wymberley Wormsloe De Renne, relocated to Athens in 1938 where he
served as the librarian for the De Renne collections through 1956.